Syrians suffering due to aerial bombardment

Syrian population continues to suffer from indiscriminate bombardment by the Syrian regime as well as by Russian and American aerial strikes.

The latest brutal chemical attack attributed to the Syrian regime in Khan Sheikhoun where almost 100 people have died and hundreds injured, many amongst them children has come under widespread international condemnation.

While there seems no end to multi pronged conflict in Syria, involving the Assad regime backed by Russia, Iran and Hezbollah and Syrian opposition groups backed by Western countries, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in various capacities and their combined efforts to eliminate ISIS, it is the common people of Syria who continue to suffer from this onslaught.

After six years of brutal conflict the five millionth Syrian refugee fled their country overnight to seek safety – the total now equivalent to a quarter of the country’s pre-war population.

Oxfam and three Syrian organisations have called on the international community to recommit support to Syrians forced to flee.

While half of Syria’s total pre-war population of 22 million have had to flee their homes since 2011, a quarter have then crossed into Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, and Iraq, in an attempt to look for safety. When broken down, that is an average of 2,500 people crossing the border every day for the past five years.

Only 10 per cent of Syrian refugees live in camps. The overwhelming majority are in informal settlements established on agricultural land in Lebanon, in cramped flats in Jordan, and in housing with basic necessities in Turkey.

Though Syria’s neighbours have further restricted their borders since 2015, the relentless fighting and dim hopes of peace continue to force Syrians out of their war-torn country. They are either being smuggled into Lebanon at the risk of their own lives, or living in limbo in makeshift camps at the borders of Turkey and Jordan with little to no humanitarian aid available.